When planning a kitchen renovation or designing a brand new kitchen, homeowners should reflect on their lifestyle and cooking habits before choosing their appliances. Trail Appliances’ chefs offer expert advice when doing a kitchen makeoverSupplied

Before you start a kitchen renovation, you need to answer two key questions: What style of cooking appliances do you need and where are they going?

“If everyone walked in with answers to those questions, the whole project would go much smoother,” says Michael Seens, Trail Appliances’ Director of Sales for Alberta and Saskatchewan.When planning a kitchen renovation or designing a brand new kitchen, homeowners should reflect on their lifestyle and cooking habits before choosing their appliances. The type of appliances that are selected will have a major impact on the overall kitchen design, including the layout of cabinets and countertops.

FIND YOUR COOKING STYLE

The appliances you choose determine the measurements for the cabinetry and dictate the layout of the kitchen. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is planning your cabinetry before finalizing the appliances.

A free-standing range has different requirements than a separate cooktop and wall oven. You need to decide whether you want electric or gas. Also, what are you going to do with the microwave oven?

“Microwaves are the new toaster oven,” Seens says. “People are sticking them in their pantries. Or do you put them over your stove? What kind of look are you going for?”

In addition to thinking about the way you cook, you need to consider what other ways you use your kitchen, says Amber Desilets, Trail Appliances’ in-store interior designer.

“The way people are using their kitchens now is different than it was 10 years ago,” Desilets says. “Kitchens are a lifestyle space instead of a work space. People are living in the kitchen, doing homework in that space.”

There are also more appliances in the kitchen than we might have found a few years ago, she notes.“People have a fridge plus a beverage centre for the kids, so the kids have access to that one area rather than having to go into the actual cooking space.”

GO HIGH-TECH WITH SAMSUNG

Shopping at Trail Appliances is like taking your kids through the toy aisle. There are so many futuristic products on the market today, with Samsung leading the way for innovation.Take Samsung ranges, for example. Options include electric, gas, induction or the versatility of Samsung’s dual fuel convection range, which combines the precision of a gas cooktop with the fast, even heat of an electric convection oven.

Have you ever wished you could bake two different dishes at the same time? Samsung’s Dual Fuel Range with Flex Duo™ can take on any menu with ease. The dual convection system allows the single oven to be split into two with its insulated Smart Divider; independent controls cook dishes simultaneously at different temperatures. The self-cleaning option uses steam to clean the oven interior in just 20 minutes.

“We’ve been selling appliances for generations – many of our staff have been here long term – so it’s rare to get excited, but we are definitely excited about Samsung’s Flex Duo technology,” Seens says.

For refrigerators, French doors are on everyone’s must-have list. Samsung’s Food Showcase design adds extra doors and drawers to give you better access to drinks and condiments while properly storing large fresh food items.

MEASURE TWICE, BUY ONCE

These innovations in appliances are exciting, but they come with a challenge: new sizes and shapes. It’s not just the width and height that matters, it’s also the depth and the way the doors swing. If you forget to pre-plan your kitchen around the new appliances, you’ll run into trouble.

“My biggest tip for people who are renovating is to measure your space more than once,” Desilets says. “A lot of times people come in, and they see a fridge they love and they buy it. However, because they didn’t measure their space, when they get it home, it doesn’t fit.”

Depth is an extremely important measurement that many people forget to take. Seens’ tip for testing the depth of a fridge is to tape out the shape of the new fridge on the floor.

“Think about it this way: I have to walk by this tape every time for the rest of this kitchen’s life,” Seens says. “I’ve done that personally and saved myself from a bad decision.”

GET EXPERT HELP

Achieving the new or renovated kitchen of your dreams is easy, when you begin your project with a visit to Trail Appliances. Explore Trail’s state-of-the-art showroom and its stunning kitchen displays to discover the latest advancements in home appliances. Trail Appliance’s highly trained sales consultants will help you select the appliances that best suit your home, daily life and budget. In-store professional designers are at the ready to share their expertise and ensure that your kitchen achieves maximum style and function. Trail Appliances is the only appliance retailer to have full-time chefs on staff to demonstrate the newest ranges, induction cooktops, steam and wall ovens. And after customers make their purchase, Trail Appliance’s chef will provide a cooking lesson to go over the features of their new appliances, as well as sharing expert tips and recipes.

“Trail Appliances is a fun place to be, and people enjoy being here,” Seens says. “At the end of the day, we provide our customers with what we believe is the best.”

TRAIL APPLIANCES | 15 locations in Western CanadaThis content was produced by Postmedia Works on behalf of Trail Appliances for commercial purposes. Postmedia’s editorial department had no involvement in the creation of this content.